🔍 How Create Gummies Scaled To 7-Figs In One Year

Hey, Brian here.

There are a few misconceptions in the fitness industry, but maybe none more prominent than the perception of creatine. Previously thought of as a taboo, borderline steroid, creatine is now gaining steam as a healthy daily nutrient that supports mental and physical health.

While much of this is tied to its physical benefits, there is a brand in the DTC space making creatine feel more accessible to the masses, called Create.

We profiled their founder, Dan McCormack, and asked him some tactical questions about the biz. Here are the 3 big ideas we think you can learn from their success...

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Create disrupted the creatine market with one word: gummies.

The result? Over $3m in revenue in the first year.

There are a few key markers of a DTC business that’s built to last.

A quick refresher on what those are:

Insight #1: Dan isn’t a traditional biohacker, but during the pandemic, he saw a gap in the creatine market. For decades, it’s been targeted at hardcore athletes and bodybuilders. 

In recent years, science has grown on the daily nutritional benefits, but Dan didn’t see a brand that made creatine approachable for millennials or women. 

Insight #2: Creatine mainly existed in powder form, but the preferred method for ingestion in the supplement category is gummies. 

Enter aha moment. 

Creatine was poised to reach the mainstream, someone just had to package it the right way. 

Takeaway: Put a spin on something traditional (making creatine appealing to women, for example) to open up a huge untapped segment of a market.

Dan 10x’d Create since December.

How?

He reaches talent using Kynship. From there, he developed relationships with 5-8 creators and 2-3 of them have creative that really scaled in the account.

Costs to run a DTC business are rising every day, and that's before any additional rockiness from the broader economy. As we continue to interview strong founders they consistently reinforce this: if you don’t know your numbers, you don’t stand a chance.

Above all else, his north star is continuously increasing top-line sales without decreasing the contribution margin.

To manage his costs, he outsources his entire staffing needs. It’s agency across the board and he’s the only employee. 

The philosophy: hire experts only for 5 hrs per week vs someone average for 20 hrs per week. This allows him to focus solely on chasing down the mission, and not managing.

Has building in public helped the business?

“It’s led more to connections, than direct sales. But sometimes that leads to direct sales. Dollars and Data shouted us out and it led to a huge day - just a classic example of product-audience fit.”

Channel he thinks is underrated?

“Certainly Meta. People think it's fallen off, but it's hyper-efficient and probably the greatest advertising tool we’ve ever seen. I’ll stay away from the cliches of talking about building community, although that is super valuable.”

Create is a perfect example that DTC businesses can still scale rapidly in today’s environment. You need strong operating chops, business fundamentals, and a unique product. But when combining those with a strong founder on a mission - it’s tough to lose.

Until next week...

Stay classy.

Brian Blum